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Why Two Covenants? The fact that there are two Covenants rather than a single treaty based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an outcome of the ideological struggle between the Western Powers and the Soviet Bloc during the Cold War. During this period human rights were used as a weapon in the battle for hearts and minds by each side, with the West focusing on civil and political rights while the Soviet Bloc maintained the supremacy of economic, social and cultural rights. One legacy of this struggle is the continuing insistence of the USA on treating economic, social and cultural rights as merely aspirational and not legally enforceable. |